COHERENCE IN THE PARAGRAPH

An important quality in any good text, especially essays, is coherence. The coherence of a text means how well its parts – its words, sentences and paragraphs – work together and contribute to the text as a whole. An incoherent text is one that lacks unity.

When we looked at paragraphs, we drew attention to the importance of the topic sentence as a way of focusing attention on one main idea for each paragraph. We also said the function of the other sentences was to support the topic sentence by explaining, defining or giving examples of the point expressed there. Following this advice is an important step towards coherent essays. But there is more to it than that.

As we have seen, a well-structured essay gains from being visually structured too – in clear paragraphs. In the same way, the coherence of a paragraph needs to be reflected in the language it uses. The reader, after all, is not a mind-reader, so the job of the writer is to give him clear signals about what is to come and how it relates to what has already been said. Reading a good text should be a smooth ride, not a bumpy one.

A paragraph is coherent when its sentences are related to each other. Paragraph coherence exists when each sentence in a paragraph serves a purpose and the readers know what that purpose is.

The relatedness of sentences comes from coherence techniques (see below). If these techniques are absent, sentences may seem only randomly or marginally relevant to the paragraph.  An incoherent paragraph rambles from idea to idea, with no sign that the writer has thought about what communicative purposes its sentences serve.

Common Coherence Techniques

1.      Use transitional expressions.

2.      Use pronouns.

3.      Use deliberate repetition.

4.      Use parallelism.

1.                  Transitional Expressions

Transitional expressions are words and phrases that indicate connections among ideas. Their use is crucial in writing. Particularly in argumentative writing, the writer should consider issues related to critical thinking (such as soundness of arguments, fallacies, and flaws in premises).  Try not to use the same expressions in the same piece of writing (especially if the text is short). A thesaurus may be helpful in coming up with relevant transitional expressions (but avoid weird ones). Elegant use of transitions takes practice, but inelegant use is better than no use.

Common transitional expressions (others are possible)

Relationship	Expressions
Addition	also, in addition, too, moreover, and, besides, furthermore, equally important, then, finally, as well, further, indeed, in fact, ; [semicolon]
Alternative	either…or, if only, instead, instead of, in that case, neither…nor, otherwise, rather than, unless, whether…or, or, in other words
Causation	as a result of, because, due to, for, on account of, since
Comparison	similarly, likewise, in the same way, not only…but also, as…as [e.g., as big as a house]
Concession	of course, to be sure, certainly, granted
Contrast	but, yet, however, on the other hand, nevertheless, nonetheless, conversely, in contrast, by contrast, still, at the same time, although, despite, even if, whereas, by comparison
Degree or Extent	for the most part, so…that [e.g., she is so loud that she doesn't need a microphone], to some extent, to some degree, to a certain extent, such…that [e.g., it is such a long way that I can't walk], in part, partly
Example	for example, for instance, thus, as an illustration, namely, specifically, such as, : [colon], in that
Place	in the front, in the foreground, in the back, in the background, at the side, adjacent, nearby, in the distance, here, there
Purpose	so that, to, so as to, in order to, in such a way as to
Result	therefore, thus, as a result, so, accordingly, as a result, it follows that, consequently
Summary	hence, in short, in brief, in summary, in conclusion, to sum up
Time Sequence	first, second, third, next, then, finally, afterwards, before, soon, later, meanwhile, subsequently, immediately, eventually, currently

EXAMPLE [from George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language"]: 

In prose, the worst thing one can do with words is to surrender to them. When you think of a concrete object, you think wordlessly, and then, if you want to describe the thing you have been visualizing you probably hunt about till you find the exact words that seem to fit it. When you think of something abstract you are more inclined to use words from the start, and unless you make a conscious effort to prevent it, the existing dialect will come rushing in and do the job for you, at the expense of blurring or even changing your meaning. Probably it is better to put off using words as long as possible and get one's meaning as clear as one can through pictures or sensations. Afterwards one can choose--not simply accept--the phrases that will best cover the meaning, and then switch round and decide what impression one's words are likely to make on another person.

2.      Pronouns

Use pronouns to connect specified nouns in earlier sentences to the content of later sentences.

EXAMPLE: [the first two paragraphs of Lenore Keeshig-Tobias' "He Was a Boxer When I Was Small"]

His thundering rages are most vivid, his tears subtle. Watching and feeling for them, but unable to bridge the gap, I learned to love, hate him all in the same breath. No one ever knew this. They saw a kid in love with her father.

      He was a boxer when I was small. People say he was good and would have made it had he started younger, but he had a wife and growing family to provide for. Amateur boxing paid nothing, but he loved it. I think he must have been about twenty-two then. He claims that we were too young to have seen him fight, but I remember.

[Note that the pronoun "he" creates coherence between the two paragraphs as well.]

3.      Deliberate Repetition

Repeat a key term or phrase if that term or phase is central to the ideas in a paragraph. To establish coherence in this way, synonyms of that key term are not useful. Furthermore, the shorter a paragraph is, the less often a writer should use repetition (since too much repetition can be monotonous and wordy). But deliberate repetition can be an uncomplicated way of indicating the centrality of an idea to a paragraph.  This technique often occurs together with parallelism (see 4. below).

 EXAMPLE [from Marie Nelson's Beowulf's Boast Words"]

But let us begin as Beowulf begins, with the situation in the land of the Danes when Beowulf arrives. As readers will remember, all promisers do not follow through by doing what they say they will do. As Hrothgar explains to Beowulf, who has just arrived, his trusted "ōretmecgas" often promised to wait for Grendel's attack in the meadhall.

4.      Parallelism

Parallelism (or parallel structure) is the use of grammatically equivalent syntax in adjacent sentences or within sentences. The repeated rhythm of parallel structures notifies the reader that the ideas in parallel structures are related to each another. Like deliberate repetition, overuse of parallelism can at times cause monotony and wordiness: but consistent parallelism is extremely effective in promoting coherence, and I recommend erring on the side of overuse in this case. Indeed, lack of parallelism at times creates ungrammatical structures.

EXAMPLE

WEAK: James was not only a prolific novelist but wrote essays, too, and also several plays.

STRONGER: James was not only a prolific novelist but also an essayist and a playwright.

EXAMPLE [from Winston S. Churchill's speech on the evacuation at Dunkirk ("Wars Are Not Won by Evacuations")]

Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous states have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight in the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and liberation of the old.

Exercises:

1. Identify the coherence techniques in these two paragraphs. Write in the blank the name of the technique.)

(1)    As Gene Roddenberry's James T. Kirk, William Shatner was the embodiment of Kennedy-era sensitive macho: articulate, reasonable and commanding, but always game to buss an intergalactic babe or bust a Klingon jaw. If it was the role of a lifetime for Shatner, that was not his decision to make. Fans, and the particular properties of the television medium, would make it for him. A low-ratings earner from the getgo, Star Trek nevertheless began to build its unprecedentedly rabid fan-base almost instantly. It was organized fan pressure that convinced NBC to leave the show on for a third season, and it was eventually fan pressure that made William Shatner realize that, if there was anything worth clinging on to (so to speak) for a lifetime, it was the role of Jim Kirk. _______________________________________________________________

           

(2)   It first hit him in New Jersey in 1970. After 79 episodes, Star Trek had been cancelled, and the combination of an expensive divorce and a residual-free contract with Paramount, which owned the series and Kirk, soon left the actor every bit as broke as  he'd been when Roddenberry first called. By 1970, he was doing summer stock for money, but not enough money that he didn't have to cut costs by driving from job to job in a pickup with a camper shell on the back. As Shatner recalls it, he was asleep in the camper, when a six-year-old boy knocked on the door. The kid had seen the strange sleeping apparatus and wanted to ask the inhabitant of the camper if it was a spaceship. Imagine his surprise when Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise came to the door. It was then that Shatner began to realize the extent to which Star Trek, which would soon run in syndication across the States and 100 countries, had taken a life of its own.

______________________________________________________________

B.     Combine the following sentences using suitable transitional words or phrases.

(1)   I prefer folk music. My girlfriend adores heavy metal.

_____________________________________________________________________

(2)   He’s received three threatening letters. He is continuing to investigate the case.

_____________________________________________________________________

(3)   The referee blew his whistle to start the game. It began to pour with rain.

_____________________________________________________________________

(4)   Her boyfriend is very good-looking. He’s a damn good cook.

_____________________________________________________________________

(5)   She was absolutely exhausted. She’s just finished her final exams.

_____________________________________________________________________

(6)   You don’t like him. You want that job. You’ll have to be nice to him.

_____________________________________________________________________

3. Read the paragraphs below carefully. Then the topic sentence in each of them and how you think they could be improved without changing the content. Then, rewrite them using the changes you think are needed.

1. The book I would choose to take on a desert island is a book called Frankenstein. It’s an amazing book about a man called Frankenstein who is a scientist. He’s obsessed with creating life. He creates this monster out of different body parts. He brings it to life using electricity. The monster escapes. Frankenstein wants to forget the whole experiment. The monster tracks him down. He wants revenge. He gets it. 

_______________________________________________________________________

2. Gordon Brown took over from Tony Blair as Prime Minister in 2007. It was not an enviable task. Tony Blair was a master of the media and a good speaker. Gordon Brown appeared rather clumsy and boring. He was left with Blair’s unpopular policies. Like the war in Iraq.

_______________________________________________________________________

3. For the Liberal Party the election system is a huge disadvantage. They have supporters in all parts of the country and in all social classes. They are the third-largest party. Most of the votes they get are wasted. Their representation in Parliament is far below their popularity among the electorate.

_______________________________________________________________________

4. The electoral system is not without its advantages. It usually provides governments with workable majorities. That makes it easier to carry out policies. It provides stability. Extremist or special interest parties have little chance of getting elected. It ensures that each constituent in the country has a personal representative in Parliament.

______________________________________________________________________

Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education

Region IV-A CALABARZON

Division of San Pablo City

Dalubhasaan ng Lunsod ng San Pablo

San Pablo City

Award this

CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION

To

ANTONETTE C. CORPORAL

for participating at the 1^st national conference of  Philippine organization for the young Journalists ang being the 1^st placer in the National Feature Writing Contest.

Given this 29^th of  August in the year of our Lord 2013 at San Pablo City

MR. NOYNOY AQUINO

The Philippine President

        MR. JOMAR BINAY                                                                          MRS. MARYJOY MARASIGAN                      

  Vice pres. Of the Philippines                                                             President of Philippine journalist

accountancy

Management  principles by henripayol

·  ORDER: For the sake of efficiency and coordination, all materials and people related to a specific kind of work should be treated as equally as possible.  

 ·  EQUITY: All employees should be treated as equally as possible.                                                                                                 

·  STABILITY OF TENURE OF PERSONNEL: Retaining productive employees should always be a high priority of management. Recruitment and Selection Costs, as well as increased product-reject rates are usually associated with hiring new workers.                                                                                                 

·  INITIATIVE: Management should take steps to encourage worker initiative, which is defined as new or additional work activity undertaken through self direction.                                                    

·  ESPIRIT DE CORPS: Management should encourage harmony and general good feelings among employees.

·  DISCIPLINE: A successful organization requires the common effort of workers. Penalties should be applied judiciously to encourage this common effort.                                                                               .                                                                                              

·  UNITY OF DIRECTION: The entire organization should be moving towards a common objective in a

Basic principles of accounting

Revenue principle The revenue principle, also known as the realization principle, states that revenue is earned when the sale is made, which is typically when goods or services are provided. A key component of the revenue principle, when it comes to the sale of goods, is that revenue is earned when legal ownership of the goods passes from seller to buyer. Note that revenue isn't earned when you collect cash for something.

Expense principle The expense principle states that an expense occurs when the business uses goods or receives services. In other words, the expense principle is the flip side of the revenue principle. As is the case with the revenue principle, if you receive some goods, simply receiving the goods means that you've incurred the expense of the goods. Similarly, if you received some service, you have incurred the expense. It doesn't matter that it takes a few days or a few weeks to get the bill. You incur an expense when goods or services are received.

Matching principle The matching principle is related to the revenue and the expense principles. The matching principle states that when you recognize revenue, you should match related expenses with the revenue. The best example of the matching principle concerns the case of businesses that resell inventory. for example, if you own a hot dog stand, you should count the expense of a hot dog and the expense of a bun on the day you sell that hot dog and that bun. Don't count the expense when you buy the buns and the dogs. Count the expense when you sell them. In other words, match the expense of the item with the revenue of the item. Accrual -based accounting, which is a term you've probably heard, is what you get when you apply the revenue principle, the expense principle, and the matching principle. In a nutshell, accrual-based accounting means that you record revenue when a sale is made and record expenses when goods are used or services are received.

Cost principle The cost principle states that amounts in your accounting system should be quantified, or measured, by using historical cost. For example, if you have a business and the business owns a building, that building, according to the cost principle, shows up on your balance sheet at its historical cost; you don't adjust the values in an accounting system for changes in a fair market value.

Objectivity principleThe objectivity principle states that accounting measurements and accounting reports should use objective, factual, and verifiable data. In other words, accountants, accounting systems, and accounting reports should rely on subjectivity as little as possible. An accountant always wants to use objective data (even if it's bad) rather than subjective data (even if the subjective data is arguably better).

Continuity assumptionThe continuity assumption states that accounting systems assume that a business will continue to operate. The importance of the continuity assumption becomes most clear if you consider the ramifications of assuming that a business won't continue. If a business won't continue, it becomes very unclear how one should value assets if the assets have no resale value. If a business won't continue operations, no assurance exists that any of the inventory can be sold. If the inventory can't be sold, what does that say about the owner's equity value shown in the balance sheet?

Unit-of-measure assumptionThe unit-of-measure assumption assumes that a business's domestic currency is the appropriate unit of measure for the business to use in its accounting. In other words, the unit-of-measure assumption states that it's okay for U.S. businesses to use U.S. dollars in their accounting. The unit-of-measure assumption also states, implicitly, that even though inflation and, occasionally, deflation change the purchasing power of the unit of measure used in the accounting system, that's still okay.

Separate entity assumptionThe separate entity assumption states that a business entity, like a sole proprietorship, is a separate entity, a separate thing from its business owner. And the separate entity assumption says that a partnership is a separate thing from the partners who own part of the business. The separate entity assumption, therefore, enables one to prepare financial statements just for the sole proprietorship or just for the partnership. As a result, the separate entity assumption also relies on a business being separate and distinct and definable as compared to its business owners.

Underlying assumptionsFinancial accounting relies on several underlying concepts that have a significant impact on the practice of accounting.The following are basic financial accounting assumptions:

·         Separate entity assumption - the business is an entity that is separate and distinct from its owners, so that the finances of the firm are not co-mingled with the finances of the owners.

·         Going concern assumption - the business is going to be operating for the foreseeable future.

·         Stable monetary unit assumption - e.g. the U.S. dollar

·         Fixed time period assumption - info prepared and reported periodically (quarterly, annually, etc.)

Definition of 'Generally Accepted Accounting Principles - GAAP' The common set of accounting principles, standards and procedures that companies use to compile their financial statements. GAAP are a combination of authoritative standards (set by policy boards) and simply the commonly accepted ways of recording and reporting accounting information.

Business ethics

Business ethics (also corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations.^[1]Business ethics has both normative and descriptive dimensions. As a corporate practice and a career specialization, the field is primarily normative. Academics attempting to understand business behavior employ descriptive methods. The range and quantity of business ethical issues reflects the interaction of profit-maximizing behavior with non-economic concerns. Interest in business ethics accelerated dramatically during the 1980s and 1990s, both within major corporations and within academia. For example, today most major corporations promote their commitment to non-economic values under headings such as ethics codes and social responsibility charters. Adam Smith said, "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices."^[2] Governments use laws and regulations to point business behavior in what they perceive to be beneficial directions. Ethics implicitly regulates areas and details of behavior that lie beyond governmental control.^[3] The emergence of large corporations with limited relationships and sensitivity to the communities in which they operate accelerated the development of formal ethics regimes.^[4]

Accounting equation

The basic accounting equation, also called the balance sheet equation, represents the relationship between the assets, liabilities, and owner's equity of a business. It is the foundation for the double-entry bookkeeping system. For each transaction, the total debits equal the total credits. It can be expressed asIn a corporation, capital represents the stockholders' equity. Since every business transaction affects at least two of a company’s accounts, the accounting equation will always be “in balance,” meaning the left side should always equal the right side. Thus, the accounting formula essentially shows that what the firm owns (its assets) is purchased by either what it owes (its liabilities) or by what its owners invest (its shareholders equity or capital)

Debits ang credits of accunting information system

They are as fundamental to accounting as addition (+) and subtraction (−) are to mathematics. It would not be appropriate to apply this mathematical analogy in all cases as it would give a distorted meaning. Thus, it would not be appropriate to consider debit to be an equivalent of addition and credit to be an equivalent of subtraction. You just need to understand that debit and credit are two actions that are opposite in nature. An element (account) that is effected by an accounting transaction is either debited or credited (with an amount that is reflected in the transaction) depending on the nature of the account and the rule applicable to it.

Diff. bet. Data and facts

Data is raw material & unorganized facts that need to be processed
When data are processed, organized, structured or presented in a given context so as to make them useful, they are called Information.
Data are plain facts. When data are processed, organized, structured or presented in a given context so as to make them useful, they are called Information.
It is not enough to have data (such as statistics on the economy). Data in themselves are fairly useless. But when these data are interpreted and processed to determine its true meaning, they become useful and can be called Information. Data is the computer's language. Information is our translation of this language.

Diiff. Bet hardware and software

Computer hardware is any physical device, something that you are able to touch and software is a collection of instructions and code installed into the computer and cannot be touched. For example, the computer monitor you are using to read this text on and the mouse you are using to navigate this web page is computer hardware. The Internet browser that allowed you to visit this page and the operating system that the browser is running on is software.

Peoplewareis a term used to refer to one of the three core aspects of computer technology, the other two being hardware and software. Peopleware can refer to anything that has to do with the role of people in the development or use of computer software and hardware systems, including such issues as developer productivity, teamwork, group dynamics, the psychology of programming, project management, organizational factors, human interface design, and human-machine-interaction.^[1

A microcomputer is a small, relatively inexpensive computer with a microprocessor as its central processing unit (CPU).^[2] It includes a microprocessor, memory, and input/output (I/O) facilities. Microcomputers became popular in the 1970s and 80s with the advent of increasingly powerful microprocessors. The predecessors to these computers, mainframes and minicomputers, were comparatively much larger and more expensive (though indeed present-day mainframes such as the IBM System z machines use one or more custom microprocessors as their CPUs). Many microcomputers (when equipped with a keyboard and screen for input and output) are also personal computers (in the generic sense)

A minicomputer, or colloquially mini, is a class of smaller computers that evolved in the mid-1960s and sold for much less than mainframe and mid-size computers from IBM and its direct competitors. In a 1970 survey, the New York Times suggested a consensus definition of a minicomputer as a machine costing less than 25 000 USD, with an input-output device such as a teleprinter and at least 4K words of memory, that is capable of running programs in a higher level language, such as Fortran or Basic.^[1] The class formed a distinct group with its own hardware architectures and operating systems. Minis were designed for control, instrumentation, human interaction, and communication switching as distinct from calculation and record keeping. Many were sold indirectly to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) for final end use application. During the two decade lifetime of the minicomputer class (1965-1985), almost 100 companies formed and only a half dozen remained

A supercomputer
 is a computer at the frontline of contemporary processing capacity--particularly speed of calculation.
Supercomputers were introduced in the 1960s, designed initially and, for decades, primarily by Seymour Cray at Control Data Corporation (CDC), Cray Research and subsequent companies bearing his name or monogram. While the supercomputers of the 1970s used only a few processors, in the 1990s machines with thousands of processors began to appear and, by the end of the 20th century, massively parallel supercomputers with tens of thousands of "off-the-shelf" processors were the norm.^[2][3] As of June 2013, China's Tianhe-2 supercomputer is the fastest in the world at 33.86 petaflops.